mitscheelich



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

A. MITSGHERLIGH.

METHOD 0F MANUFACTURING THREAD FROM SHORT FIBERS.

Invader: .Hamm/WMU 5y heb' JHM/rugs Alam NV PETERS, Phomulhographur, Walh nnnnn .C

(No Model.) v 3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

A. MITSC'HERLICH.

METHOD yOP MANUFACTURING THREAD PROM SHORT FBERS.

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Patented Jan. 8, 1889.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3,

A. MITSGHERLICH.

METHOD 0F MANUFACTURING THREAD lFROM SHORT FIBERS. No. 3,14.

Pand Jan. 89.

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ab Afro/Mfrs N. Parana Pugno-umognpnef whkmn n c Unire STATES ALEXANDER MITSCHERLICH, OF FREIBURG, BADEN, GERMANY.

METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THREAD FROM SHORT FIBERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 395,914, dated January 8, 1889.

Application filed September 11, 1884. Serial No.142,774. (No model.) Patented in England August 28,1884, No. 11,746; in Austria-Hungary October 3, 1884, No. 30,411 and No. 44,982 in Italy October 18, 1884, XVIII, 17,401, and in France December To @ZZ 'whomy it 1H/ay colte/frm;

Be .it known that l, ALEXANDER MITsCHER- LICH, of Freiburg, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany, and a subject, of the Emperor of Germany, have invented certain Improvements in the Method ot' .llanutaeturing 'lhread from Short Fibers, (for which I have obtained British YLetters Patent o. 11,746, dated August 2S, 1R84; Aust ro-l lungarian Patents No. 250,41 l and No. 44,982, dated October fi, 13S-t; French lat'entV No. l 63,727, dated December 2H, 18S-t, and Italian Patent. No. 17,4101, (lated October 18,'1Sts`t) of which the following a specification.

The object of my invention is the utilization, for the manufacture of thread, of very short bers-surdi as sulphite cellulose, for instance, or soda cellulose, obtained by boiling wood onvegetable substance with a chemical agenti. I attain this object by the method hereinafter described of treating the said fibers, whereby they may be readily spun into thread. In order to make the short fibers suitable for the imuiufaeture of thread, they are mixed with water, so as to form a pulp. The fibers can then be treated by either the wet or d ry process. ly the wet process the pulp of fibers is allowed to tiow in strips of suitable widths, which are then employed for the manufacture ol' thread. By the dry method a kind of felt or pasteboard is first made ontY ot' the liber pulp, and after having obtained the, desired thickness of the layer of the felt the latter is cutY into strips of the width required. By then spinning these strips of felt or pasteboariil obtained by either method new thread is manufactured, the

strength of which depends upon the fact..

that the short fibers have a parallel position lengthwise in the felt oil pasteboard strips.

In the aecrnnpanying drawings, Figure 1 represents a cross-section of a cont-rivance for obtaining the fiber strips from the felt by the dry method. Fig. 2 represents a face view thereof. f3 shows Vin side elevation a contrivance for obtaining the liber strips by the wet process. Fig. 4 is a plan view thereof, and Fig. 5 is a partial sectional plan view of a part of the apparat-us shown in Figs. 3 and 4, but

drawn to a larger seale. p Fig. o' represents a vertical section of another eontrivanee for obtaining the fiber strips by the wet process. Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view thereof. Fig. 8 is a plan view, on an enlarged scale, of a tibercollecting` belt used in the apparatus shown in Figs. t; and T. Fig. tl is a section through the belt on the lineA B, Fig. S. lrigs. l0, 11, and 12 are views showinf.; means for driving the rollers of the apparatus, liigs. tl and 7.

For manufacturing thread, the short fibers are mixed with water, so as to form a pulp, by means 'of a suitable contrivauce, which may be constructed in any convenient manner. The apparatus which is represented, for instance, in Figs. t3 and 7, and which is hereinafter described, may be used for the purpose. Should the fiber bundles be too thick, they must be separated before being turned into felt or pasteboard. As the fibers used in this new method are, as it is, Very short, they should not be torn by the'apparat-us employed for obtaining the strips. The pulp is gradually distributed by mixing the same with water until it is suitable for making` the fiber strips. An impregnating material similar to that which is used for making paper water-proof may also be added to the mixture. From this thin liber pulp, producedin the above-described manner, fiber strips may be obtained in various ways, and these strips are then employed for the manufacture of thread. In the accompanying drawings, for instance, three contrivances are represented for the manufacture of these fiber strips.

Figs. 1 and represent ina cross-section and in a side view a contrivance to obtain the felt or pasteboard strips from the felt by what I have termed the dry process. The ber pulp is caused to iiow over traveling endless drain-sieves suitably about three and a half feet wide, through which the water passesY away with a minimum loss of fiber, and after having been thus prepared for the felt it comes to a cylinder, d, such as is shown in Fig. 1. This cylinder may be made of oastdron, and is suitably covered with common woolen felt. The cylinder a revolves in the` direction of' the arrow, and the eontinuous sheet oi pasteboard, e, Coming' li'rom the drain-sieves, is taken up by the cylinder u` and passes between the cylinder u and a second cylinder, h, provided with cutters d. The cylinder l; revolves in a eontrary direction and at a grmiter speed than cylinder u. The distanee between the eireular eutt ers ol the cylinder I is reg'ulatwl by the width olf the liber strips required. Ordinai-il)` strips are entV ol' a width ot' one and a hall" to three millimeters. .lhe strips whieh are eut lrom the t'elt by the entiers (l are l i i l i i i travels on three rollers, u li f" a leather belt, 0, which on its exterior side is provided with a number ol? pins, p, elose together in rows. lv prefer to use Vwire stapleslo li'orm these pins, as shown in Figs. S and 5'). A seeond belt, o, traveling' over rollers u o a in the opposite direetion,may also be used, as shown in the drawings. The distance between the pins and the rowsI ot' pins depends upon thelength ol;l the libers trealtiwl. The shorter these fibers are, and the thinner the pulp is, the nearer 'passed over and eoiled up on the roller r, i

lligs. ll and 2. ln order to seeure a Q;ood eoiling' up, this roller is fixed at a greater dislanee [from the roller l) than is shown in the drawings, ti'or in the latter the roller i' is shown tar too near to the cylinder h, owing' to the want ot' spaeo. (,)n the roller l there are sundryv divisions (aeeording to the number olf out ters) made by the partitions s, and alwaysl between two oli these partitions theeutstripsare eoiled up. The roller i is mounted on a spindle, il', and after having' been tilled willi fiber strips the roller eau be taken oli. ln order to pre vent any stol'ipag'e,several sueh empty rollers should be read); for use. These rollers. now filled willi tiber strips, eau be taken lo the spinning-machine for the strips to be spilli.

ligs. f3 and l reprl-fsent a eontrivanee by which these liber strips ma)v be obtained di rectly by the wet proeess. The fiber pulp made in the manner bel'ore referred to arrives, by the aid of the eend ucti11gjelia1mels t and I, in the form ot' thin stieams, at the endless drain-sieves n. (')n the sieves ehz'n'mels are provided olf elastie eaoutchoue bands 7u Fig. 5, eoineidingI with the eonduelling-elmunelsl and I, in order to prevent these thin streams ot pulp from getting' together again. These eaouteholm bands it' fixed on the drain-sieves, are sul'tieienl/ly elast ie to be earried around the rollers r and r for the endless sieves. The feed movement ot the liber pulp in the eondueting-channels is obtained by inclininf.;l the trough or spout, and on the drain-sieves the liber pulp, lettingl olt the water at the same time, is being' moved by the motion otl the endles sieves, which are @als ried over the rollers 'i and r. lfrom the drainsieyes these liber strips pass to the rollers for eoilin` up, which are not shown in Fig. 55, but which can be formed similar to those shown in Figs. i and The conducting-@lumnels ty and I, also the channels li'ormed by the eaouti ehoue bands 7.', are shown more distinctly in the enlarged sectional plan, Fie' f7.

1n Figs. (i and T an apparatus is represented which can be used lfor obtaining liber strips by the wet method. Bymeans of supply-pipe .2' theliber pulp is Ied intoatank, 7i', in which, by means of a stirring apparatus, 1"" l1" Yworked by a pai 1.' of bevel gear-wheels, R and R', the fiber pulp is continually stirred up in order to prevent the fibers from sinking to the bottom of the tank and keep them equally mixed in the liquid. In this tank there also may be the rows and the eloser may be the pills in each row. \\"he're the tibers arelonger and the pulp is tliieker,the rows and the pins therein maybe l'arther apart. With an aver age tihiek pulp ol sulphite eellulose--trtnn eoniterous trees, for instz'inee-it is preferallile to arrange the pins at (nw-sixteenth ot' an inch and the rows one-third ot an inch apart from each other. \\'hen other materials are used lor producing' fiber strips, the distance between the several pins and rows will depend upon the lengll'i ot the libers, as already mentioned. 'Ihe distaiieesbetween the pins may be, t'or inst'anee, the thirtyseeond part of an inch and the corresponding distance between the rows would then be the sixth part ol' an ineh. These distances may be increased for the pins up to the eighth part ot an `ineh and tor the rows eorresliomlingly up to two-thirds of an ineh. l have lound that these distances, whielnol" course, are cited only as examples, and may be inereased or diminished aeeording to necessity, `give advantageous results.

When soda cellulose or sulphite cellulose made otl shorter tibers than those olf eoniterous treessuch as fibers ol.' beech-wood or other trees bearing' foliage are (-niiphfiye(l---smaller listal iees,eorrespondi ng to th e len gl h ol libers, eau be chosen. The sizeoi' the wire pins may, tor instance, he as t'ollows: 'lhe length ott the projectingl part one-sixteenth ot" an inch and the thickness of the wire one thirty-seeond of' an inch. These dimensions may, lniwever, be modilied aeeording' to the ci reumstanees. The above-mentioned dimensions may preferably be employed, beeause the libers form then a large number ot" sil'igle strips plaeed side by side in the direction olf pins 5p, whereby apar allel position oli' the libers in the finished thread will be obtained. Each belt thus provided with pins p p is moved on its rollers in the direction ot' the arrow, as shown in the f lrawings, and dips into the fiber pulp in the tank 71. lt will thus be obvious that these pins are employed for the production of the strips ot' liber and are-necessary to cause the libers contained in the pulp to adhere to the belt in parallel lines.

)leans to r imparting' motion to the two belts are shown in Figs. lO, il, and l. The roller a is driven by a belt, p, passing over a pulley, A, on a shali't, u", while the roller a is driven from. the same shaft, but in the opposite direction, by a crossed belt, p', passing' over apulley, A', on the sl'iaft. Similarly the roller l1 is driven by a belt, p?, passing' over TOO TTO

a pulley, l, on a second driving-shaft, w', while the roller l1 is driven in the opposite direction by a crossed belt, p3, passing' over a pulley, l', on the said shaft. The rollers c and c are moved each by the lfriction of its own belt.

As shown vin plan view, Fig. 7, the ber pulp is pushed against each belt 0 in a slanting direction. The pulp is pushed ag'ainst each belt in a slanting or oblique direction, owing` to the circular motion imparted to it by the revolving stirring apparatus, (see the arrows in Fig. 7,) and it lifts the fibers in parallel positions out of the pulp flowing against the belt. To explain more clearly the term slanting direction, I may point out that it is a slanting 'direction in a double sense, in which the pulp pushes against the belt, according as the apparatus is looked at in elevation (see Fig. 6) or from above. (See Fig. 7.) Then the angle at which the flowing' mass strikes against the bent belt is seen, as in Fig. ll, it would vary between twenty degrees and sixty degrees. The plan view of' Fig. 7 shows an angle from thirty degrees to sixty degrees between the fibers horizontally swimming in a circle and the surface of' the belt provided with wire pins. By the guid-' ance of the belts and the movement of the pulpcontinually and regularly the fibers will be deposited on these pins on the belts and by t-he continuous motion of the belts by the time the latter leave the liquid the strips of felt will have thus been formed and may be taken off the bands. In proportion as the fibers are thus taken out of the tank new fiber pulp must be added by the supply-pipe mentioned before. As a means for taking these strips off each belt, the following' may be used: The belt with the pins is covered with an endless large meshed fabric, g' g', through which the wire pins sufficiently project. This fabric passes over the cylinders c', (l, and c. As soon as the belt leaves the pulp the fabric rises from the belt and carries with it the strips of fiber over the rollers d e. On this large meshed fabric the liber strips remain together, and after leaving the :fabric at the roller c pass onto the drainsieves a, Fig. 5, and from there arrive at last at the rollers for ceiling up, as described before. Before the leather belt dips into the pulp the said fabric g passes back onto the belt, and the operation described before is repeated over again.

By the method described felt strips are obtained in which, for the greater part, the fibers lie parallel together, and thread manufactured out of such strips will naturally resist the strain of tearing twice as well as thread manufactured where this parallel lay- 'ing of fibers has not been brought about. rPhe felt strips thus obtained in any of the different ways described, and which will most-ly tear by the slightest tension, are now spun, and may be subjected to pressing either beforehand or afterward.

The further working of the fiber strips in order to produce thread therefrom is carried on in the usual way, the peculiar properties of the strips being, however, taken into consideration. I do not claim in this case the finished article, as that forms the subject of a separate application for a patent filed by me November 3, 1880, Serial No. 217,897.

vI am aware that it has been proposed to use paper for the manufacture of thread or yarns; but in such processes a finished paper was used-that is, a very thin material made of fibers ground in the rag-engine, and in consequence considerably shortened and not arranged parallel with each other, and owing' to the more or less high pressure to which the material was subjected and owing' to the presence in it of sizing' it was of considerable firmness and always offered more or less resistance against tearing. In my process, on the other hand, I employ only naturally short fibers which are not otherwise reduced and are not capable of being spun-that is to say, fibers from which va pulp is prepared, and from this pulp strips are produced either by the wet or dry process already described.

The material which I have termed pasteboard is a substance similar to paper, but which is not finished and not pressed. It is a thick and proportionately loose material, which can be easily torn apart, and which, for its mass, is not either as firm or tough as paper.

I claim as my inventionl. The method herein described of mamifacturing thread from short fibers, (such as sulphite cellulose or soda cellulose,) said method consisting in forming these short fibers into a pulp, arranging the fibers substantially parallel to each other, producing fiber strips therefrom, an d spinning' the strips thus formed, substantially as described.

2. The method herein described of manufacturing thread from short fibers, (such as sulphitc cellulose or soda cellulose,) said method consisting in rst forming these short fibers into an aqueous pulp, producing directly from this pulp strips of pasteboard with the fibers parallel to each other, and spinning these strips into thread, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing wtn esses.

ALEXANDER MITSCHERLICH.

lVitnesses: A. S. HOGUE,

J. GRUND.

IOO 

